Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A radiation tomography apparatus comprising: a detector ring having radiation detectors for detecting radiation, the radiation detectors being arranged annularly; an input device configured to receive a stop command to temporarily stop the detection ring detecting radiation and configured to receive a resuming command to resume the detection ring detecting radiation; a preview image generating device configured to generate a plurality of first preview images successively one for every image generation time during a detecting radiation session before the input device receives the stop command in accordance with first detection data generated from the detector ring before the input device receives the stop command, and configured to generate a plurality of second preview images successively one for every image generation time during the detecting radiation session after the input device receives the resuming command in accordance with second detection data generated from the detector ring after the input device receives the resuming command, each preview image having a generating source of an annihilation radiation-pair mapped therein; a diagnostic image generating device configured to map the generating source of the annihilation radiation-pair and configured to generate a diagnostic image after the detector ring completes the detecting radiation session based on the second detection data without using the first detection data when the input device has received the stop command during the detecting radiation session and based on the first detection data when no stop command has been received during the detecting radiation session; and a display device configured to display the preview images or the diagnostic image.
A radiation tomography (RT) apparatus uses a ring of radiation detectors to scan a subject and create images. The scan can be paused and resumed using input commands. During the scan, the system generates and displays a series of preview images. When the scan is paused and resumed, the final diagnostic image is generated only from the data acquired *after* the scan is resumed. If no pause occurs, the diagnostic image uses all scan data. Both the preview and final diagnostic images show the location of annihilation radiation-pairs within the subject.
2. The radiation tomography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the diagnostic image generating device is configured to generate the diagnostic image using the detection data that the preview image generating device has used for generating the plurality of second preview images when the input device has received the stop command during the detecting radiation session and configured to generate the diagnostic image using the detection data that the preview image generating device has used for generating the plurality of first preview images when the input device has received no stop command during the detecting radiation session.
This radiation tomography apparatus generates diagnostic images by using the same radiation data it used for creating the *last set* of the preview images *after* the resume command was received. If no stop command was given, the diagnostic image will use the same radiation data it used for creating the *first set* of the preview images. The diagnostic image generation thus utilizes the detection data used to create the final preview images, ensuring consistency between the preview and final results.
3. The radiation tomography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the preview image generating device has the image generation time of one second to one minute.
In the radiation tomography apparatus, the preview images are generated frequently, with an image generation time between one second and one minute. This allows the operator to see near real-time updates during the scan and make decisions about image quality and scan duration.
4. The radiation tomography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the preview image generating device generates the preview images from the detection data by a statistical reconstruction technique, and a number of subsets in the form of a parameter in the statistical reconstruction technique is in a range of 2 to 600, and a number of occurrences representing iteration in the statistical reconstruction technique is in a range of 1 to 16.
In this radiation tomography apparatus, the preview images are generated from the radiation detection data using a statistical reconstruction technique. The statistical reconstruction technique used has the number of subsets, as a parameter, set in a range of 2 to 600. The number of iterations in the statistical reconstruction technique is set in a range of 1 to 16.
5. The radiation tomography apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a marker attached to the subject and configured to absorb radiation.
This radiation tomography apparatus further includes a marker attached to the subject being scanned. This marker is designed to absorb radiation, which can aid in image alignment or serve as a reference point during image reconstruction.
6. The radiation tomography apparatus according claim 1 , wherein the radiation tomography apparatus is used for breast inspections.
This radiation tomography apparatus, which provides preview images and supports pausing/resuming scans, is specifically used for breast inspections. The ability to preview and adjust the scan is particularly valuable in this application.
7. A method of providing a diagnostic image of a body part using a radiation tomography apparatus comprising: receiving detection data generated from a detector ring having radiation detectors for detecting radiation, wherein the radiation detectors are arranged annularly; generating at least one preview image during a detecting radiation session of the radiation tomography and prior to the completion of the detecting radiation session; displaying the at least one preview image during the detecting radiation session; temporarily stopping the detecting radiation session based on a stop command received by an input device; resuming the detecting radiation session based on a resume command received by the input device; generating a diagnostic image of the body part, after the detecting radiation session of the radiation tomography apparatus has been completed, based on the detection data generated after the resuming of the detecting session without the detection data generated prior to the temporarily stopping of the detecting session; and displaying the diagnostic image of the body part.
A method for generating a diagnostic image using radiation tomography involves these steps: First, radiation detectors arranged in a ring capture radiation data during a scan. Then, at least one preview image is generated *during* the scan and shown to the operator. The scan can be temporarily halted via a stop command and restarted via a resume command. After the full scan, a diagnostic image is created, using *only* the data acquired *after* the resume command, and displayed.
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November 21, 2017
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